Fuse/Thinkstock(LONDON) -- The London Fire Brigade has a request: Please think before trying to emulate some of the things you've read about or seen in Fifty Shades of Grey.Ahead of the movie's release this weekend, the Brigade announced Thursday that its chiefs were "concerned" that the film "could lead to more people being stuck or trapped in objects like handcuffs or rings" because emergency calls about these things have increased since the book was published in 2011.Officials said that the Fire Brigade responds to at least one "embarrassing incident" a day."For example, in November last year firefighters came to the rescue of a man forced to undergo surgery to remove two metal rings that had been stuck on his penis for three days," the London Fire Brigade said in a statement.The man went to an emergency room at a London hospital "in the early hours but when doctors found they couldn't remove the steel rings they called the Brigade. Two firefighters scrubbed up and removed the rings using pedal cutters -- a hydraulic handheld piece of cutting equipment," the Fire Brigade said in its statement.So they started the "50 Shades of Red" campaign to urge caution."The Fifty Shades effect seems to spike handcuff incidents so we hope film goers will use common sense and avoid leaving themselves red faced," Fire Brigade Officer Dave Brown said in the statement. "I'd like to remind everyone that 999 is an emergency number and should only be used as such. If there's a genuine emergency, fire crews will of course attend and will be on the scene to help within minutes."Britain's 999 is the equivalent of 911 in the U.S.ABC News called emergency responders at six major U.S. cities, but those agencies could not determine whether they had experienced a similar Fifty Shades phenomenon.

luiscar/iStock/Thinkstock(SAN FRANCISCO) -- A young boy who fought through leukemia is now fighting to keep unvaccinated children out of school.After going through chemotherapy, Rhett Krawitt, 6, remains unprotected against certain illnesses, including the measles. So the boy and his family this week asked his local school district to support new legislation that would abolish personal-belief exemptions, which allow families to opt out of required vaccinations, according to ABC News station KGO-TV in San Francisco."My name is Rhett and I give a damn!" Rhett told the Reed Union School District members, according to KGO.Rhett and his Corte Madera, California, family asked the Reed Union School District to support state legislation introduced by state senator and pediatrician Dr. Richard Pan that would abolish personal-belief exemptions that allow students to attend school without being fully vaccinated. For the current school year, 5.89 percent of kindergartners in Marin County have a personal-belief exemption.Rhett attends school in Marin County in California, where just over 84 percent of kindergartners are fully vaccinated, according to the California Department of Public Health."This story isn't about Rhett anymore. It's about the expecting mothers, the babies and the hundreds of kids currently with suppressed immune systems," Rhett's father, Carl Krawitt said, according to KGO-TV.The multistate outbreak of measles that started in Disneyland in December has infected at least 121 people, with 99 of those infections in California, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.After the family’s plea, the school district voted to support legislation introduced by Pan.Carl Krawitt also told ABC News that son Rhett will meet with his doctors to determine whether his immune system is healthy enough to get a measles vaccination.The importance of vaccinations was underscored again Wednesday after the Contra Costa Public Health Department alerted Bay Area California residents that a passenger on the Bay Area Rapid Transport public transportation system has been infected with measles, meaning other passengers could have been exposed to the contagious virus.

rez-art/iStock/Thinkstock(LONDON) -- If the public health sector had to describe its relationship with major players in the sugar industry on Facebook, it would probably be, “It’s complicated.” A new investigation in the U.K., published in the BMJ, shows worrisome connections between organizations meant to serve the health interests of the public and major food companies marketing heavily sugared items such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi-co, Mars, and Nestle. These connections take the form of millions in research funding to public health researchers from food companies, food company representatives on the boards of major public health organizations, and more. Also concerning in the study were policy statements released by industry groups, in which they state a commitment to “protection and promotion of sucrose consumption” through research and sitting on dietary advisory committees.

JanelleAnn/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -– It’s known that smokers have a two to three times higher rate of death than non-smokers, but new research suggests doctors may have been lowballing the number of people killed by tobacco.The new data, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that doctors have been off in yearly reporting by about 25,000 people. The surgeon general already formally links 21 diseases with smoking, but these diseases do not appear to account for all the deaths believed to be due to smoking.Several diseases newly linked to smoking cause nearly 20 percent more deaths in smokers, according to the new study. After reviewing data on nearly 1 million Americans, researchers found increased rates of infections, various cancers, kidney and liver disease, all conditions not previously linked to smoking.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) -- It looked and felt like a “mission accomplished” moment – but President Obama said on Wednesday he was really just declaring a “transition” in the fight against Ebola. In a speech at the White House, Obama announced the end of the military mission in West Africa, saying all but 100 of the 2,800 U.S. service members deployed there will be home by April 30. “While our troops are coming home, America's work is not done. Our mission is not complete,” Obama said. “For as long as Ebola simmers anywhere in the world, we will have some Ebola fighting heroes who are coming back home with the disease from time to time.”He said the U.S. is more prepared than ever before because of efforts by the Centers for Disease Control to improve Ebola testing and response. He set a new goal for the global coalition of “getting to zero” cases of Ebola.“As long as there is even one case of Ebola that's active out there, risks still exist. Every case is an ember that, if not contained, can light a new fire,” he said. He was joined by six of the eight American Ebola survivors.

cosmonaut/iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(SAN FRANCISCO) -- Officials in Northern California said on Wednesday that commuters across the Bay Area may have been exposed to measles, after an infected person rode the Bay Area Rapid Transit system.The Contra Costa County Department of Health said a person with measles rode BART between the Lafayette station in the East Bay and the Montgomery station in San Francisco while infected. The person traveled between the two stations during the morning and evening commutes, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6. Health officials say the person rode on the transit system before being diagnosed. "Measles is circulating in the Bay Area and we don’t know yet where this person was exposed,” said Erika Jenssen, Communicable Disease Program Chief with Contra Costa Public Health. “The ongoing measles outbreak in California highlights the need for people to be vaccinated, and this is just another example of how interconnected our region is and how important it is for everyone to be up to date on their immunizations,” Jenssen added.Health officials said the risk of being exposed to measles on BART is low, but since the measles virus can stay in the air for up to two hours and BART cars circulate throughout the Bay Area, anyone who used the transit system during that time could have been potentially exposed to the virus. Health officials urge anyone who shows symptoms of measles to contact their healthcare provider immediately.

Fuse/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Obesity researchers say a Puerto Rican bill that would fine parents of obese children up to $800 is "unbelievable" and "unfair." Puerto Rican Sen. Gilberto Rodriguez filed a bill in an attempt to curb obesity in Puerto Rico by having schools find children who are obese and then refer them to health department advisers to determine the cause of obesity, formulate a diet and exercise plan and follow up every four weeks. If the "situation" persists for six months, parents can be fined up to $500, according to the bill, and if a third progress report six months later still shows no significant weight loss, the parents can be fined up to $800. "What's next? Will they be fining parents of children suffering from other diseases? Maybe diabetes? Maybe cancer? Maybe something else?" said Nikhil Dhurandhar, who chairs the department of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University. Rodriguez's bill assumes that people who are obese can choose not to be, but it's not that simple, Dhurandhar said. Dhurandhar's own research has shown obesity can be caused by a multitude of factors, including the environment in a mother's womb, too much or too little sleep and chemicals in the environment. There's more to losing weight than eating less and moving more, he said. "This proposal is very unfair and inappropriately penalizes and stigmatizes parents," said Rebecca Puhl, deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. "Childhood obesity is a highly complex issue, and while the home environment is important to address, much broader societal changes are required to effectively address obesity." Policies that support parents are much more helpful than policies that penalize them, she said. Improving access to opportunities for physical activity and providing incentives toward buying healthier food, for example, have already proven effective in cities like Philadelphia, Puhl said. The fines this senator has proposed "drastically oversimplify obesity and are more likely to be harmful than incur any benefit," she said.

US Senate(WASHINGTON) -- When Sen. Bill Cassidy asked Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the possible link between illegal immigration and the current outbreak of measles, she shut him down. “Of those folks infected in the California epidemic, how many were native-born Americans and how many had immigrated here,” the Republican senator from Louisiana asked at a Senate health committee hearing on Tuesday. Schuchat, who is the CDC's national director of immunization and respiratory diseases, replied, “I don’t have that information but what I can say is that most of the importation we have of measles each year are in Americans who are traveling abroad and back.” Cassidy, also a physician, pressed on, saying he was worried that some immigrants might have “fallen between the cracks.” “With the measles we are seeing spread in some of the wealthier communities in California for instance,” Schuchat responded, adding that the current outbreak can most likely be traced back to a strain of measles that came from the Philippines, carried into the U.S. by unvaccinated American travelers. Years ago, the measles virus was often imported from Latin America, Schuchat went on to say, but thanks to a vigorous public health campaign in those countries that is no longer the case.

In the Philippines, much of the immunization structure was destroyed after a typhoon ripped through the country two years ago, she noted.

Alexandrum79/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Now that an influential group of nutrition scientists have indicated the U.S. Department of Agriculture may drop the 50-year-old warning against eating cholesterol-laden foods, some changes to the American diet may be in order.The current recommendation by the USDA is for adults to consume no more than 300 mgs of cholesterol per day from dietary sources. The agency won’t make any changes to those guidelines for at least six months and if they do, they will still caution diabetics and people who take statin medications to refrain from eating a lot of cholesterol.But for the rest of us, here are some foods that would be back on the table if the new guidelines are adopted:EggsEggs have long been the poster child of the anti-cholesterol message, possibly because one large egg contains nearly a day’s worth of cholesterol, according to the USDA nutritional database. Assuming the new guidelines are accepted, the 636 mg in a three-egg omelet with cheese won’t matter to most people.BaconBacon might also make it back onto more breakfast tables. Some cuts deliver up to half the current daily limit of cholesterol. Of course, there are other health reasons for limiting your ration of all processed meats, including the high amounts of sodium, fats and nitrates they contain.LiverOne ounce of chicken liver totals 180 mg of dietary cholesterol. So a typical 4-ounce serving of this organ meat is more than 200 percent above the current recommended daily intake of cholesterol. According to the USDA and American Heart Association, other meats considered high in cholesterol include lamb, duck, fattier cuts of beef and pork.Shell FishShrimp, with 194 mg per 3.5 ounce serving, could also swim back onto the menu more often if the cholesterol limits go away. Other shell fish too would once again be considered a healthy, low-calorie choice.Whole Fat DairyNew guidelines would mean less guilt when choosing whole milk with 24 mg of cholesterol compared to 5 mg from fat-free milk. You might also consider switching from a 3-ounce serving of a low fat cheese which has virtually no cholesterol to a full-fat cheese with approximately 30 percent of the current daily limit on the nutrient.

puhhha/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Kim Kardashian, Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez are stars all known for their luscious eyelashes, and women from coast-to-coast go to extremes to get that same long-lash look.The quest for beauty -- which, in this case, involves individually gluing single synthetic lashes to each natural lash -- can sometimes, however, turn ugly.Natasha Pieper is a Houston woman who had eyelash extensions applied last year. After four applications, Pieper says she had a bad reaction."My eyes were swollen up to my eyebrows and then my eyes were completely bloodshot, just lots of burning," Pieper told ABC News.Anthony Aldave, an ophthalmologist, says eyelash extension wearers with symptoms like Pieper's should visit their doctor."Symptoms that last for more than a day, anything associated with pain in the eyes or decreased vision should prompt a visit to an eye care professional," said Aldave, also an associate professor of ophthalmology at UCLA.Pieper believes the culprit of her bad reaction was the glue used. Some experts say that the formaldehyde contained in glues used by some salons can cause allergic reactions, like the one Pieper suffered.The Association for Damage-Free Eyelash Extensions told ABC News in a statement that, "properly applied eyelash extensions are not dangerous." The organization also said that the,"adhesive should not contain formaldehyde," and that "hypoallergenic adhesives are available" for use.The owner and founder of Makeup Mandy, an eyelash bar in Los Angeles, says that her salon sees two to three customers per week asking them to fix bad eyelash extensions they got elsewhere."We have a lot of people that do come in with horror stories," said Amanda Jacobellis. "They went to the place that was the bargain and their lashes are all stuck together, way too much adhesives used."Jacobellis added there are three things people interested in getting eyelash extensions should ask about in advance."I would ask that they're certified and licensed. I would ask about the products they're using," she said. "Ask for pictures. It should look like a single hair per lash."

Angel Canales/ABC News(NEW YORK) -- In a possible attempt to one-up Willy Wonka, a Belgian chocolatier wants chocolate lovers to indulge not with their tongues but with their noses.The chocolate shooter is a cocoa powder catapult that launches two small bumps of cocoa powder into the user’s nostrils.While it is obvious that creator Dominique Persoone has found himself at the extreme of chocolate obsession, what’s less known are the possible health effects of snorting chocolate; there is no research on the impact to the nose or lungs, although medical experts are far from condoning this indulgence.However, that has not discouraged Persoone from reportedly selling more than 20,000 kits online. Nor has it stopped a Vancouver, Canada, shop from becoming the first known North American store to offer these cocoa bumps.Mary Jean Dunsdon has been selling the kits for $109 or $2 per sniff to more than to 100 customers. And so far, she has had no complaints.“We get some people back who’d like to try it again. Or people that like to try both flavors, but no there’s no addict,” Dunsdon says.So why are we snorting chocolate? It could be the same reason why we’re willing to plunk down big bucks for artisanal chocolate. The Mast Brothers, Rick and Michael Mast, sell $8 bars made in their chocolate factory in Brooklyn, New York.“For people that want to take their pleasures to the next level you engage in a company like Mast Brothers,” says co-owner Rick Mast.And for the Iowa natives the next level means bringing it back to basics. Rick’s brother Michael says they want people to “think of chocolate in the purest sense and not just as a bar with a laundry list of ingredients.”They do so by sourcing cacao beans from small farms around the world, and bypassing large producers. The brothers use select beans for small batches that have a distinctively different taste from the chocolate bars you find at the grocery store checkout counter. Their chocolate is often referred to as bean-to-bar or craft chocolate.

This delicious trend is part of a $330 million premium chocolate category that, according to the National Confectioners Association, has seen 15 percent growth since 2013.At the University of Michigan, Dr. Ashley Gearhardt runs a cleverly disguised room that looks like a fast food restaurant, but is actually a science lab where she studies food addictions. Chocolate, she has reported, is consistently ranked as the number one food respondents have trouble putting down.And her research shows that the culprit for the obsession could be our brains.“That same brain region is one of those regions that we know is really important in other drug addictions,” Gearhardt says. “This section of the brain is activating and saying you want that you crave that you really should get more of that.”Which could explain how The Mast Brothers have sold more than a million bars sold around the world and are opening a factory this week in London. Rick Mast credits their success to one simple truth about chocolate.“We said many times chocolate is the most popular food on the earth,” he says. “People start smiling just by hearing the sound of it and they just want to taste it, they crave it, they are addicted to it. It’s everything to a lot of people.”

NikiLitov/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Move over statement necklace. Just in time for Valentine's Day, the "statement lip" is all the rage.That's lip, singular. Just the top please, according to one New York City plastic surgeon."Lip augmentation has certainly been on the rise as it appears that more and more beauty trends and celebrities are touting the statement lip as a fashion accessory," said Dr. Jody Levine, AOB Med Spa National Medical Director.Levine said Kylie Jenner, Nicole Kidman, Liv Tyler and Megan Fox all appear to have gotten the statement lip treatment.Driving the trend, Levine said, is the never-ending quest to look younger.

"Plumper, fuller lips can exude youthfulness and femininity and can certainly make a beauty statement when lip color is worn. Some patients have naturally thin top lips, while others notice significant volume loss in the lips over time," she said.

And of course, the all-important selfie plays a role.

"As the lips lose volume, they can be less projected and lines can form around the edges. This could certainly impact the ability to 'make a statement' when wearing lip color or smiling for the camera," she said.Levine said she avoids the dreaded "trout pout" and "duck lips" by just injecting the edge of the lip."If you inject the border and leave the middle of the lip alone, it actually gives a very sexy look that is so natural and avoids the pout and the duck look. Also, if you inject filler around the border of the lip and then inject some Botox above the top lip, it turns the lip out in a sexy way without making the lips big," she said.And while Levine said it's crucial to seek out a trained injector to perform the 20-minute, outpatient procedure, there's good news for those who get plumped beyond perfection."If the patient doesn't like the early result, the plastic surgeon or dermatologist can dissolve the hyaluronic acid with an injection of hyaluronidase," Levine said. "And, if the patient should get tired of the new look, it will gradually disappear in time."